In recent years an electric vehicle employing a motor as a driving source and a so called hybrid electric vehicle having a motor serving as a driving source and another driving source combined together are commercially available. Such vehicles have electricity storage equipment mounted therein for supplying the motor with electricity serving as energy. The electricity storage equipment is implemented for example as a secondary battery represented by a repeatedly rechargeable and dischargeable nickel cadmium battery, nickel hydrogen battery, lithium ion battery and the like, a capacitor and the like. The electricity storage equipment is accommodated in a case and thus mounted as an electricity storage pack on a vehicular body.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-113959 proposes a vehicular battery mounting structure including a battery trestle bearing a battery box disposed in a vehicle at a rear portion on a floor for accommodating a battery, that is formed of a battery mounting portion supporting the battery box, a front leg and a rear leg, with the front leg and the rear leg formed to be fragile for the battery trestle. The publication discloses that when the vehicle is bumped at a rear portion and a load thus acts thereon, the vehicular battery mounting structure can have the fragile front and rear legs deformed to prevent the battery trestle from increasing the floor's rigidity and thus ensure the floor's crush stroke, and also prevent the battery mounting portion from deforming and thus protect the battery box, a battery and the like from damage.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-247063 proposes an electricity storage mechanism attaching structure attached to a side member positioned in a vehicle at a side. The side member has a kick up portion curved upward. A cross member is provided at a front portion of the kick up portion to couple a pair of side members together at their respective side surfaces. A battery pack has a front portion secured to a top surface of the cross member by a front bracket welded to the front portion of the battery pack. The battery pack has a rear portion secured to a top surface of the side member at a rear portion of the kick up portion by a bridge provided to couple the pair of side members. The publication discloses that the electricity storage mechanism attaching structure can reduce or prevent damage to the electricity storage mechanism when the vehicle is bumped at the back.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 6-270697 proposes an auxiliary component arrangement structure for an electric vehicle. In an engine room over a motor, there are a plurality of auxiliary components such as an inverter, an auxiliary battery, an inverter for an air conditioner and the like arranged in the vehicle's body from front to back in order. These auxiliary components are each coupled to an adjacent auxiliary component with a link. The link has opposite ends having coupling points to have positions, respectively, straddling the vehicle's longitudinal axis vertically opposite to each other. The publication discloses that when the vehicle is bumped at the front and thus experiences a load compressively deforming its front body, the auxiliary component arrangement structure allows an auxiliary component posed between two other auxiliary components to move in a direction further diverting from the vehicle's longitudinal axis as the link acts, which can reduce an amount of collision load transmitted rearward from the vehicle's front portion through the auxiliary components, and hence collision load exerted from the vehicle's front portion and reaching the vehicle's cabin.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-243847 proposes a battery support device. More specifically, when a physical impact is exerted from above a battery, the device disengages the battery and a side member fastened (or secured) together and rotationally displaces the battery downward to ensure deformability for the vehicular body when it receives physical impact (or ensure a space between a hood and the battery by rotationally displacing the battery).
An electricity storage pack is secured to a floor panel, a side member or a similar support member supporting the electricity storage pack. For example when vehicles collide with each other and the electricity storage pack directly receives physical impact, the electricity storage pack may receive physical impactive force and be damaged, or sudden braking or the like may cause a load on the vehicle to impinge on the electricity storage pack and thus exert physical impactive force to the electricity storage pack.
Furthermore even if the electricity storage pack does not receive physical impact directly, being bumped by a vehicle from behind or the like may deform the support member, and as the supporting member is deformed, the electricity storage pack per se may receive a load. Furthermore, as the supporting member is deformed, the electricity storage pack may come off the support member, smash another portion and thus experience physical impactive force.
In particular, if the electricity storage pack has damaged a case accommodating a storage battery or similar electricity storage equipment and the internal electricity storage equipment is exposed, the electricity storage equipment may receive physical impact or the like further directly and may not be protected appropriately.